Kolkata: Amid the increasing armed conflict between Iran and Israel, Russian President Vladimir Putin has explained the reason behind Moscow opting to watch the proceedings from the sidelines instead of directly helping Tehran. The statement came even after the US targeted the nuclear sites in Iran.
Despite being a close ally of Iran for decades, Russia is yet to get actively involved in the former’s war against Israel. Putin said he is trying to stay neutral in the conflict because a huge number of Russian-speaking people reside in Israel.
He gave the reason during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. According to Putin, “I would like to draw your attention to the fact that almost two million people from the former Soviet Union and the Russian Federation reside in Israel. It is almost a Russian-speaking country today. And, undoubtedly, we always take this into account in Russia’s contemporary history.”
Also, Putin slammed those who questioned the loyalty of Russia toward its allies, describing them as “provocateurs”. He said that his country has maintained friendly relations with both Arab nations and Islamic countries for a long time, and emphasized that 15 per cent of Russia’s population is Muslim. He also said that Russia was also an observer in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
Notably, the US has attacked Iran’s nuclear facilities and important military sites of Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan.
According to a claim by US President Donald Trump, the attack “completely and totally obliterated” Iran’s main nuclear enrichment facilities. Earlier, Putin offered to mediate a ceasefire deal between Iran and Israel, but it was rejected by Trump who reportedly said, “Do me a favour, mediate your own. Let’s mediate Russia first. You can worry about this later.”
